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Home > What's New > The Last Supper
The Last Supper
Posted: Monday, February 24, 2003
By Michael S. Marsh
When you live in the greatest baseball town there is, it's impossible not to get excited around this time of year. Spring training is in full swing, the sports pages are loaded with baseball talk, and opening day gets closer and closer with each day crossed out on the calendar.
Unfortunately, as the days pass here in New York, the beginning of baseball is not the only thing that grows nearer. On March 30, one day before most teams throw out the first pitch, Mayor Michael Bloomberg's antismoking law goes into effect, prohibiting smokers from lighting up in any restaurant or bar in the five boroughs. Unlike opening day, this is not something to look forward to, especially if you're a cigar lover.
"Nothing good is going to come out of this," sighs Bruce Goldstein, the owner of Arnold's Tobacco Shop on Madison Avenue in Manhattan. "It's going to be hard for everyone: smokers, retailers and manufacturers."
While it may be too early to tell just how significantly the smoking ban will affect smokers and those in the industry, Goldstein already knows one area that will be affected: cigar dinners.
Since the early 1990s, Arnold's has been sponsoring cigar dinners in restaurants around Manhattan. The dinners have become important tools for his shop in maintaining customer relations. Several times a year, Goldstein and his customers get together for a night of cigars, libations and plenty of food. "Not only are they a lot of fun," says Goldstein, "but they have been great for morale and for public relations. Only good things have come from them."
Sad to say, on February 10, Arnold's hosted what is likely to be its final cigar dinner. And if it is, no one can say that Arnold's didn't go out with a bang. It was a fantastic night all around.
At first I wasn't sure what to expect. I mean, I've been to dozens of cigar dinners, but knowing this was going to be the last dinner sponsored by Arnold's, I had the feeling it could have gone either way. One part of me was prepared for a funeral-type atmosphere with everyone bitching and moaning about the ridiculous antismoking law. The other part was prepared for an absolute bender with, of course, everyone bitching and moaning about the smoking law. I am happy to report that the latter was true.
When I arrived at First, a restaurant on the Lower East Side, there were easily more than 100 cigar lovers puffing away. Everybody was getting their nice on and having a riotous good time. The open bar was flowing and a tasty cast of smiling waitresses served an endless array of equally tasty hors d'oeuvres. Sure enough, it wasn't long before I realized this wasn't going to be a prim and proper cigar dinner where everyone is under heavy manners. This was a cigar party, and the scene was one that any cigar lover would relish.
And relish it they did. It was hard to believe that anybody had a bad time. Then again, how could you? For $80, customers had free rein on the bar, three cigars from Davidoff -- including a Zino Platinum -- and a four-course meal with more food than you could possibly imagine.
A few days after the dinner, I phoned Goldstein and thanked him for the invitation. Our conversation soon turned to Bloomberg's law and how disagreeable it is to anyone involved in cigars.
"It's very bad timing," he said. "The economy isn't great and such a law will cause business to dissipate. It's going to be tough and there will be a lot of obstacles to overcome."
But Goldstein remains cautiously optimistic and hopeful that a loophole can be found that will allow the cigar dinners to continue. "We'll have to wait and see what happens," he said. "We're talking with our attorneys and are hoping for the best."
Cigar smokers are hoping for the best, too.
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